


Strangeness and Charm

by tricksterity



Series: Ceremonials [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Established Relationship, Good Draco Malfoy, Hogwarts Eighth Year, M/M, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-18
Updated: 2015-11-18
Packaged: 2018-05-02 05:25:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5235869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tricksterity/pseuds/tricksterity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eighth Year has consisted of stress, assignments, a lot of coffee, and Draco Malfoy slowly making the rounds, apologising to everyone he's hurt. This morning he's apologising to Ron Weasley in the middle of the Great Hall, Harry's not completely awake yet, and Ginny's the only one who knows that the two of them are together.</p><p>(Your basic secret relationship reveal in the Great Hall. You know how it is.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strangeness and Charm

* * *

 

 

Harry had a forkful of scrambled eggs halfway to his open mouth when he heard a familiar, drawling voice call out across the Great Hall. He was too tired to really concentrate on it – his tie hung untied and loose around his neck like a snake still – but he managed to catch the voice calling out Ron’s name. Ron tensed up, pale knuckles turning white around his spoon. Harry sighed and shoveled the eggs into his mouth, reaching over to take his steaming goblet of hot coffee. He wasn’t the biggest fan of coffee if he was being honest, but eighth year was really taking its toll on all of them, and with NEWT-level assignments forcing them all to camp out in the library until curfew, he’d had to learn to like it.

 

“What do you want, Malfoy?” Ron ground out as the Slytherin approached their table, coming up behind Harry who sat opposite to Ron and Hermione. Harry paid no attention to the conversation as he snagged a hair band from around Hermione’s wrist and used it to tie up his hair into a messy bun – it’d started with the fact that he just didn’t think cutting his hair was important after the war, then he didn’t have time once the school year started, and when he brought up cutting it with Hermione and Ginny, the two girls had blanched and very firmly told him that _hell no, it makes you look like a sex god, please keep it._

 

His hair grew surprisingly fast like it always had, and it now fell in black curls to just above his shoulders. Ginny liked to sit behind him on the couch in the eighth year dorms, Harry on the floor between her feet as she’d play around with his hair, braiding it and such. He would readily admit that he loved it when she did that, and was glad that their breakup had been smooth – she was easily his best friend after Hermione and Ron, and he wanted her to always be in his life. He was useless at carrying around hair bands though and always seemed to lose or misplace them (usually plucked out of his hair by long, pale fingers in a fit of lust) and so Hermione had taken it upon herself to carry them for him.

 

Ginny then took that moment to come and slide in on Hermione’s other side, grabbing a slice of toast, sending a smile Harry’s way. He gave a tired smile back and took another sip of his coffee, the former Slytherin prince still standing at his back. Draco Malfoy had been one of the only Slytherins to return after the war, and the ones outside his immediate circle of friends thought him a traitor to their families, even though they’d lost the war and Voldemort was dead.

 

Harry tuned in just in time to hear Draco say, “I… look, Weasley, what I’m trying to say is that I’m sorry.” Everyone at the Gryffindor table seemed to freeze in place with the sheer shock of his words. Ron went so far as to drop his spoon into his porridge, and the only ones who didn’t look shocked at this revelation were Harry and Ginny.

 

“Who are you and what’ve you done with Draco Malfoy?” Ron gasped out. “Unless you’re gonna say you’re sorry for not punching me in the face when you had the chance, I guess.”

 

“I’m not,” Draco replied, and Harry could hear the rustle that meant that Draco was running his hand through his hair (the Slytherin had also begun to grow out his hair, and it now fell in soft white-blonde curls that framed his face and made his eyes seem more silver than grey). “I... have been doing quite a bit of thinking since… last year.”

 

“Thinking about how you’re a dick?” Ron spat, and Draco sighed.

 

“I guess I deserve that. Actually, I deserve your insults and more. I didn’t know what it was like to have anything other than a loving family, money and privilege until sixth year when everything began to fell apart. I realised that what I’d said to you, to Granger, to Potter and everyone else was… really shitty of me,” Draco said, uncharacteristically swearing.

 

“Really?” Hermione asked, looking disbelieving but a little curious.

 

“I’m trying to do this publicly so you’ll actually believe me,” Draco laughed a little self-depricatingly. “I’m sorry for everything I’ve ever said to you, Weasley. About your family, your parents, your status… everything. And Granger, for calling you names that are undeserving of anyone, let alone the brightest student in the year.” At this, Hermione flushed a little, always pleased with praise no matter who it came from.

 

“I know that this doesn’t make up for everything,” Draco continued, “or in any way makes me deserving of your forgiveness. I’m still trying to work through a lot of the propaganda that my parents taught me, all the pureblood prejudice bullshit that I’ve been spoon-fed my whole life. I understand now what it’s like to fear for your life, and I had my perfect little world shattered apart so easily. So… I’m sorry. For everything.”

 

It seemed at this point that the entire Great Hall had fallen silent at Draco’s words, and Harry took a quiet sip of his coffee as Ron’s jaw nearly literally hit the floor. Hermione was chewing her lip in thought, staring at Draco like she was analysing everything about him – and she probably was. It had been a shock to everyone when they found out that Draco had enrolled himself in NEWT level Muggle Studies, and he’d mostly kept to himself since term started, but word was getting around.

 

People talked about how Draco Malfoy was beginning to change, and how he’d stopped spitting insults and started to deliver apologies like this – though usually quiet, private affairs, not public ones like this. Katie Bell had been seen speaking with him in the corner of the eighth year common room and had walked away smiling, but with tears running down her face.

 

“Anything you’ve got to say to me?” Ginny then piped up once the silence continued to stretch on, raising her eyebrow challengingly at Draco.

 

“Uh… your poetry really is very good,” Draco then said, and Ginny laughed. “No, really, _eyes as green as a fresh-pickled toad_ is going to go down as a classic poem. I’ll ask Madam Pince to add it to the library shelves immediately.” Ginny’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment and she flicked a piece of toast at Draco, still giggling away.

 

“You’re an arse, Malfoy,” she retorted.

 

“I know,” he replied. “Poetry aside though, I am sorry for everything I’ve ever said to you, names I’ve called you, times I’ve made fun of you. It was unforgiveable, and I’m so, so sorry.” Ginny’s laughter finally died down, and she smiled gently at Draco.

 

“You’re forgiven, Malfoy,” she replied, holding her hand out. Draco leaned over the table and shook her hand firmly, and Ron’s jaw nearly cracked as it fell open further. In the silence that followed, Harry took a loud sip of his coffee and then flexed his neck to each side, making it crack loudly each time in a way that had Ginny grimacing and Hermione rolling her eyes in frustration.

 

Harry then put down his empty coffee goblet and began to crack his fingers back one by one, followed by his elbows with a quick twist of his arms. Ginny was covering her ears and was staring at him with a disgusted expression, but the boys at the table were nonplussed, used to Harry’s habit after witnessing it for years in their dorm room. It was a ritual he performed every morning, but it was also to somewhat alleviate the tension that had come over the table at Draco’s apology to Ron.

 

“Harry, you believe him?” Ron then asked quietly, jerking his head at Draco.

 

Harry laced his fingers together behind his back, arms straight, and pushed his shoulders back, raising his arms up as high as he could in the hopes of cracking his shoulder blades. He could feel that they _wanted_ to crack, but some mornings they just wouldn’t do it and it made his shoulders itch and ache all day when they didn’t.

 

Then slim fingers wrapped around Harry’s wrists, the other hand pressing into his shoulder blades, using the position to bring Harry’s arms up just that extra amount needed for his shoulders to crack. He sighed gratefully and let his arms fall to his side, then leaned back until his head rested on the stomach of the person standing behind him. Those same slim fingers came up to rest on his shoulders and gently rubbed the sore muscles there. Harry sighed and grinned.

 

“Thanks,” he said.

 

“No problem,” Draco replied. Harry then snaked an arm up to grab a hold of Draco’s perfectly knotted green-and-silver tie, and pulled him down to plant a kiss on his lips. Draco’s hands tightened a little on Harry’s shoulders both for balance and in shock, and the Great Hall was now so quiet you could literally hear a pin drop. Harry let go of Draco’s tie and let the Slytherin straighten up, and then looked across to Ron and Hermione who were gaping at him.

 

“To answer your question, Ron, yes I do believe Draco was sincere in his apology,” Harry said smoothly.

 

“You bastard,” Ginny then swore quietly, flicking a galleon over the table to Draco who had to lift a hand off Harry’s shoulder to catch it with seeker reflexes. “I had plans for that galleon, Harry. _Plans_. Now your boyfriend has plans for it.”

 

“Shouldn’t have bet against me, Weasley,” Draco replied with a cocked brow.

 

“Yeah, it’s the last time I do that,” Ginny groused, taking an angry bite of her toast.

 

“Will someone _please_ explain what’s going on?” Ron thundered, voice echoing around the hall, and Harry sighed, settling in to more comfortably lean against Draco, who had started up his little massage again and was moving his clever fingers up Harry’s neck.

 

“You see, Ron, when two people love each other very much…”

 

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> Because long haired Harry and Draco are my life.
> 
> **If you liked my writing and you're interested in me writing something for you, click[HERE](http://tricksterity.tumblr.com/post/140544637431) for more information! **


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